Gloomy Salad Days

Gloomy Salad Days is a 2010 Taiwanese television series starring Aaron Yan and Serena Fang. The first episode aired on Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 9 p.m. on PTS Channel; two episodes were broadcast back-to-back every week.

Synopsis

The drama consists of 12 different stories of teenagers based on real life social cases. The main character is Du the Death Girl, guardian of the bridge called the "Nai He Qiao"; she is the Chinese equivalent of Charon, and the river under her bridge is the Chinese equivalent of the Styx.
The bridge is crumbling and its masonry is eroding, so Du sets off to repair the bridge; she seeks people who are willing to be turned into a rock in exchange for a wish. Du can only be summoned when a particular person has a rock from the bridge and is in such despair that they wish to die. However Shen Qi, who has a brain tumor, can see Du even without desiring death nor possessing a rock. After he learns that Du took Huang He away, Shen Qi tries to save people from Du and prevent her from taking their lives away.
Shen Qi slowly becomes curious about Du and tries to find out who she was in her previous life. He discovers that in Du's previous life she was a girl named Du He, whose Death Girl comic won first place in a competition. Another competitor named Gao Chao had substituted his best work for an inferior one to give Du He a better chance at winning the prize money, because she needed it more.
Not long after, Gao Chao proposes to Du He and they get married. Their marriage angers Du He's brother Du Ji, who is in love with his own sister. One night, Du Ji gets drunk and uses a wooden plank to hit Gao Chao, causing him to fall into a pool. Du He, shocked, comes out screaming for Gao Chao. Du Ji tries to calm her down and tells her the reasons for his actions. Du He reveals that she feels the same way as Du Ji does; however she does not wish to wrong Gao Chao and jumps into the pool. With the thought that her existence only brings tragedy to the world, she becomes brain dead and falls into deep coma. Gao Chao recovers but Du He does not; he flies to alone to Japan and becomes engaged to another woman.
Shen Qi, who started out pitying Du, begins to love her and Du comes to love him too. When Shen Qi's father learns that Shen Qi has a brain tumor, he immediately plans for it to be operated upon. However Shen Qi does not wish to have the tumor removed, as he knows that once removed he will never be able to see Du in this life again. Can the lovers be together though they are from two different worlds, or will they be forever separated?

Episodes

Cast

Main

Actor/Actress	Character	Introduction to Character	Appearance
Aaron Yan	Shen Qi	- A teenager suffering from a brain tumor. - Falls in love with Death Girl. - The only person that can see Death Girl without the help of the stone.	Episode 1–20
Serena Fang	Du	- Guardian of the Bridge of Helplessness - Tasked to ferry different people to the afterlife. - Only appears when someone can't go through the most difficult part of their life and turns them into rocks to support the Bridge of Helplessness	Episode 1–20

Supporting and guest cast

Actor/Actress	Character	Introduction to Character	Appearance
Wang Zi	Huang He	- Popular, rich, talented and good-looking. - Has two identities being the good and the bad side. - Has a crush on Xiao Qing after a debate competition.	Episode 1–2
Mao Di	A Pang	- Grows up with his grandmother. - Has a crush on Xiao Qing. - High interest in drawing. - Calls for the help of Death Girl to get rid of Huang He.	Episode 1–2
Adriene Lin *	Jiang Ping	- Science teacher for Huang He's class. - Had a tryst with Huang He.	Episode 1–2
Qiu Xiu Min	Fa Shi Wai Po	- A Pang's beloved grandmother.	Episode 1–2
Summer Meng	Chen Xiao Qing	- Prettiest girl in school. - Attracted the attention of Huang He after beating him in the debate competition.	Episode 1–2
Zhou Xian Zhong	Hei Gou	- Huang He's followers. - School's bully.	Episode 1–2
Cai Zhe Wen	Xiao Diao	- Huang He's followers. - School's bully.	Episode 1–2
Lin Zong Yan *	Sha Dong	- Xiao Qing's brother. - Has no guts in anything.	Episode 1–2
Lin Chen Xi	Ni Ke	- A rebellious girl. - Works as a prostitute to earn money for her family.	Episode 1, 3–6
Chang Chieh	A Cai	- One of the gangsters in the school. - Ni Ke's boyfriend.	Episode 1, 3–5
Tang Zhen Gang	A Guo	- Captain of the school's basketball team. - Xiao Ju's brother.	Episode 1, 7–10
Zhang Jun Ming	Xiao Lin	- A quiet girl. - Transferred to Shen Qi's class. - Loves her parents very much.	Episode 2–4
Qiu Sen	Hei Bao	- A Cai's followers.	Episode 3–4
Ao Quan	A Jie	- Son of a famous calligraphist. - Has no interest in calligraphy but loves graffiti.	Episode 3–4
Kris Shen	Xiao Tang	- A very good student and has a perfect family background. - Has a crush on Ni Ke.	Episode 3, 5–6
Ivy Fan	Teacher	- Xiao Lin's teacher.	Episode 3–4
Zhao Yi Lan	Li You	- A mysterious person. - Hides her identity as a girl.	Episode 6–10
Wen Chen-ling	Xiao Ju	- A Guo's younger sister. - Became a couple with Li You even though she knew that Li You was a girl.	Episode 7–10
Zhong Yao	Qiao Qiao	- A good student with a bad family background. - Likes Xiao Ju.	Episode 8–10
Andy Chen	Xiao Dao	- Dropped out of school twice. - Was a high school student for 4 years and hasn't graduated. - Very impulsive and arrogant. - Pei Pei's God-Brother. - Likes / Has a crush on Pei Pei.	Episode 9–12
Jay Shih	Li Qiang	- Grew up with Xiao Dao. - Has a crush on Pei Pei.	Episode 11–12
Si Wei Hong Zheng	Ah Jie Zheng	－ Works for the gangsters.	Episode 11–12
Xiao Man	Pei Pei	- Has a straightforward personality. - Interested in motorbikes. - Xiao Dao's God-Sister	Episode 9, 11–12
Jack Kao	Shen Da Wei	- Shen Qi's father. - Only concerns about his decisions and doesn't know how to care about others.	Episode 11, 15
Ah Ben	Xiao Lun	- Has a girly personality. - Gets tease by his classmates because of his girly behaviour and actions.	Episode 12–14
Ring Hsu *	Mi Xue		Episode 13–14
Afalean Lu	Lu Zi		Episode 13–14
Zhang Yong Zheng	Da Dong	- Bullies Xiao Lun but falls in love with him.	Episode 13–14
Albee Liu		- One of the participants for the musical.	Episode 13–14
Wu Xiong	Ya Zhen	- Has a lot of pressure due to her studies.	Episode 15–16
Vibo Wei *	A Hong	- One of the gangsters of the school.	Episode 15–16
Darren Wang *	Xiao Hai	- One of the gangsters of the school. Impregnates Ya Zhen.	Episode 15–16
Ven Gao	Shen Quan	- Shen Qi's brother. - Went to Shen Qi's school to become a trainee teacher during a new semester. - Committed suicide to be with his girlfriend, Ruo Yao.	Episode 15–16
Jennifer Chu	Ruo Yao	- Shen Quan's girlfriend. - Died during abortion.	Episode 15–16
Aaron Yan	Gao Chao	- Was a newlywed couple with Du He. - Was knocked into a pool by Du Ji but got saved and furthered his studies in Japan.	Episode 17–20
Serena Fang	Du He	- Du's true self. - Was a newlywed couple with Gao Chao. - Jumped into a pool because she felt guilty about Gao Chao and Du Ji. - Doesn't know whether she should live or die, so she is in a coma situation.	Episode 17–20
James Wen	Du Ji	- Du He's brother. - Fell in love with his own sister, Du He. - Takes drugs. - Pushed Gao Chao into a pool.	Episode 17–19
He Ya Xin	Jia Jia	- A nurse. - Marries Du Ji.	Episode 17–19

* represents guest star

Production

Gloomy Salad Days was filmed at the National Dongshih Industrial High School at Taichung, Taiwan. For the filming of this drama, the school's name was changed to 石雨高校.

Broadcasting info

Taiwan

Broadcast period: 9 October 2010 - 11 December 2010
Day: Every Saturday
Time: 2100 - 2300
Channel: PTS Channel 13
Repeats: Saturday

Malaysia

Broadcast period: 23 November 2010 - 20 December 2010
Day: Monday - Friday
Time: 2230 - 2330
Channel: Astro Shuang Xing Channel 324
Repeats: Monday - Friday ; Saturday

Ratings (PTS)

Other media